I wish I could go to this European Cannibal Conference
“From prehistory to the present with many episodes in between, the region has a surprisingly meaty history of humans eating humans.”
NecHocNecIllud
I'm androgyne, transexual, poly, and androphilic. Nec hoc nec illud is Latin slang for bisexual, but I use it because it translates loosely as "Neither one thing nor the other." I think this is a good description of me, even though I'm not bisexual. This tumblr is neither one thing nor another also. It's random stuff I'm randomly interested in. I don't do "reblog if you believe X" posts, as I feel they are coercive to the reader and if you read my stuff you already know what I believe.
I will generally answer non-troll asks.
Ask me anything
May62013
April222013
The Mysterious Cave City and Monastery of Vardzia, 1185 AD
One of the most little known marvels of the world is the ancient cave city of Vardzia. It is every bit as impressive as the Roman Colosseum or the Pyramids of Giza. Built astride and into the sheer cliff face of a mountain, it resembles something of a hybrid of ancient Petra in Jordan and the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings of the U.S…or, for those familiar with the Tolkien works, a Minas Tirith in ruins.
Known as the cave city or monastery of Vardzia, it was dug into the side of Mount Erusheli near the town of Aspindza and the Mtkvari river in southern Georgia during the late 12th century. During this time the medieval kingdom of Georgia was resisting the onslaught of the Mongol hordes. Queen Tamar ordered the construction of this underground sanctuary in 1185 AD. When completed this underground fortress extended 13 levels and contained 6000 apartments, a throne room and a large church with an external bell tower.
(via ghost-plot)
April202013
Vytautas the Great as shown on Jan Matejko’s oil painting of the Battle of Grunwald
Vytautas “the Great” was one of the most famous rulers of medieval Lithuania. Vytautas was the ruler (1392–1430) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which chiefly encompassed the Lithuanians and Ruthenians. He was also the Prince of Hrodna (1370–1382) and the Prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), postulated king of Hussites.
In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revered as a national hero and was an important figure in the national rebirth in the 19th century.
1AM
Doubting the Blood Eagle
I’m not sure if this is news as people have been doubting the blood eagle for decades, but it does a nice summary of the reasons the evidence makes it look like a later invention.
March182013
Another Robin Hood Theory
I’m not convinced there is a single origin. There were at least three outlaws named Robin or Robert between the Norman invasion and 1100. There is a long history of outlaw stories and a long history of aristocratic outlaws and guerrilla warfare stretching through the whole Medieval period. My belief is that common people liked to hear stories about people tricking nobles and nobles liked stories about patriots fighting invaders. A wide variety of outlaw stories, some political and some not were likely circulating for centuries. I’m willing to bet this William is one of them along with a huge bunch that accreted in the 14th century during a period of particularly intense outlawry early in the centenary. I suspect that over time, the “Robin Hood” brand was a good way to get paid to tell or sing stories of this type and for a local village storyteller, Robin hood stories were good for a pint. It was simpler to take stories about this sort of outlawry and/or guerrilla warfare and change the names to fit with the developing mythos. I’m not convinced that there is any one origin for the stories, but rather a gathering of stories of a type under one set of names. I am very willing to think this particular bandit was a major contributor of elements and stories to that mythos, but I don’t think it’s provable that he is the one true source even if he was actually the origin. Some things aren’t knowable.
4AM
Hunt for bones of King Stephen
I know if they actually find them, there’d likely be no soft tissue, but I’d be fascinated to see if they could find signs of what killed him, as you can sometimes tell disease and the like from bones. However I suspect even if they find bones they’ll have a hard time authenticating them.
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